Community Warning System

The Community Warning System (CWS) alerts people in Contra Costa County to imminent threats to their life or safety. How does it do that? With:

Sirens near major industrial facilities and in other special safety zones

Countywide telephone notification system

Cell phone voice and text notification service

NOAA Weather Radios

Radio, TV and cable via the Emergency Alert System (EAS)

Twitter and facebook alerts

Hearing a Siren
A siren is simply an alerting device to draw your attention away from your daily activities to a possible hazard in your area. Even if you're not sure what's going on, the best protective action to take is to SHELTER, SHUT and LISTEN (also known as shelter-in-place).

Siren Test ScheduleThe only sirens in the City of San Pablo are located at Contra Costa Community College. There are 18 sirens positioned in the City of Richmond which can be heard in San Pablo.

First Wednesday of every month at 11am the sirens will sound for less than 3 minutes.

Every Wednesday at approximately 11am the sirens are tested for a few seconds, called a Growl test.

Shelter, Shut and ListenSHELTER yourself and love ones inside away from the outside airSHUT and lock doors and windows. Turn off vents, air conditioners and fansLISTEN to radio, TV broadcasts, telephone notifications and other sources of official information to learn how long you should stay inside and any other protective measures you should take

For a hazardous materials incident, Contra Costa Health Services will make an announcement when it's safe to go back outside.

Stay TunedDon't call us, we'll call you! Avoid using the phone so you can receive our call. Please don't call 911 for information about an incident, unless you are reporting a life threatening emergency.

Instead, sign up to receive cell phone alerts for the areas that you frequent in Contra Costa County. Monitor the emergency situation by listening to KCBS 740 AM and following local new channels.